Belleville softball stays sharp in summer

The Belleville girls varsity softball team. The Bucs worked hard this offseason during the Essex County Summer league, to prepare for next spring.

An athletic program that once dominated the landscape at Belleville High is showing sings of returning to prominence.

The BHS softball team participated in an Essex County league this summer, and head coach Chris Cantarella was pleased with the outcome.

"I was very happy with how the summer went," said Cantarella. "It allowed the girls who normally don't play varsity ball, to participate. It also allowed my (assistant) coaches (Amanda Veniero and Alexa Veniero) and myself to see the kids play at different positions on the field."

The Bucs played against other Essex County teams, including Nutley, Newark Academy, West Orange, Columbia and Bloomfield.

"It was a good level of competition," said Cantarella. "When we played Nutley, we were up against one of the best pitchers in the county, in Carly Anderson, and it was important for our kids to play against her. You're only going to get better by playing good teams and the kids at Nutley, Bloomfield and Columbia, for instance, are putting in the time during the off season to get better, too."

Among the incoming seniors this fall who played this summer for Belleville included Sarah Guy, Samantha Samaniego, Barbara Jacangelo and Jaclyn Sales.

"They played well and were positive role models for our younger kids," said Cantarella.

Kristan Lombardi, who will be a junior this year, showed good versatility, playing shortstop, second base, third base and in the outfield. Cantarella also noted the play of juniors Keila Garcia, JorMarie Carpio, Karen Wong, Nicole Soriano and Saralyn LaStella.

Luciana Gilfone, a sophomore, swung the bat well, and played good defense, according to Cantarella. Najalis Gual and Jasmine LaTorre did well as middle infielders and also played some outfield.

Francheska Russo and Victoria Bruno played the corner infield spots. Freshman Mariah Zarrillo played in the West Orange and Newark Academy games, and impressed Cantarella with the way she swung the bat against seasoned pitchers.

"The two players that I was most pleased with were Kara Sica and Kaila Freid" said Cantarella. "They both pitched very well and outside of the Nutley game, they pitched every inning. Hopefully, the girls will continue to work on softball skills and some strength and conditioning during the next couple of months, because March 6 (the first day of official practice) isn't that far off. Come spring, there should be some good competition for varsity spots, and where people play in the field or bat in the line-up. I am looking forward to next year and I see some good things on the horizon."

Cantarella was disappointed in the Super Essex Conference's recent decision to move his program from the Liberty to the Colonial Division for two years, beginning in 2015.

"It is what it is," said Cantarella. "Two years ago, we were in the top division (the SEC American), with a really young team and took our lumps. We moved to the American because we had some solid teams prior to 2012, but those kids weren't there when we were bumped up. After a season, we went back to the Liberty, which was good for us, and now, based on record, they moved us down a division. Look, we want to play well in the Colonial and have a lot of respect for the teams in that division. And we'll have to put together a solid out-of-conference schedule to help us prepare for the county tournament. Sometimes, when it comes to post-season honors, the majority of the accolades go to the players from the American and Liberty, and I don't want to see our kids overlooked. But if we do our job on the field, we'll be fine."